ACC Men's Basketball Loses in Playoffs to Powerhouse

It didn't have the Cinderella ending Lumberjack fans had hoped for, but a 101-59 loss to fifth-ranked Macomb Community College didn't diminish the accomplishments of the 2023-24 men's basketball season.

The loss in the Region XII Great Lakes District B semifinals ended ACC's run with a 10-16 overall record.

But that overall record hides the fact that ACC was 7-7 in the MCCAA Northern Conference regular season and they were 1-1 in the Region XII tourney. The Jacks also played a very difficult non-conference schedule, losing to four teams with 20+ wins and dropping four games by five points or fewer, including one at conference champion Bay College.

Against Macomb, Elijah Hennings opened the game with a three-pointer to put the Lumberjacks in front at the start but an 11-0 run by the Monarchs gave them a lead they would never relinquish.

ACC stayed within 10, trailing 27-17 with 7:37 to go in the first half but a 19-0 Macomb run over the next 5 minutes put the game out of reach early.

Davarion Mitchell closed out a stellar career leading ACC with 19 points and eight rebounds. Hennings finished with 15 points. Trevon Johnson scored 10.

After defeating ACC, Macomb (28-3) went on to take the Region XII Great Lakes District B finals with a 97-89 win over Kalamazoo Valley Community College. The Monarchs secured an automatic bid to the NJCAA National Championship Tournament where they finished 2nd last season.

The Lumberjacks finished tied for third in the conference, ACC's highest finish since placing third in the MCCAA East back in the 1997-98 campaign. The home playoff game against Muskegon Community College was the first at ACC since that same 1998 season.

ACC also reached the regional semifinals for the first time since the 1991-92 season.

The future should be bright for the Lumberjacks with four of the team's top five scorers - Hennings (1st), Johnson (3rd), Robert Williams (4th) and Terence Burton (5th) - returning next season.